Although a number of methods exist to remove greenhouse gases from flue gas streams and the like, these methods are costly and in some cases create a secondary waste that can be more problematic than the greenhouse gas stream itself. Currently, a number of scrubbing technologies are used to reduce or remove greenhouse gases. This includes scrubbers such as quick lime scrubbers, which are reactive processes that remove the oxygen-containing greenhouse gases from the flue gas stream. Steam scrubbers are also used to remove compounds such as sulfur dioxide. High heat processes, such as rotary kilns, flares, or incinerators are also used to incinerate greenhouse gases in flue gas streams. Recently, carbon capture and storage technologies have been employed. These methods capture the carbon compounds, such as carbon dioxide, which are either stored or used for other purposes. While these processes work, they require significant energy input or create waste streams that must be disposed of at a cost to the operator and with potential future environmental impact.
Thus there is a need in the art for an improved method to economically remove oxygen-containing greenhouse gases from flue gas streams while creating usable secondary products.